I'm a christian, I currently am a member of a Presbyterian church. I'm very happy there, but i am faced with the decision of converting to catholicism because of the liturgical service changing and becoming more casual, which I disagree with. Yes, I like more intimate services but i'm not fond of the contemporary services most protestants are leaning towards.  I don't like loud church services or church services where people shout. I like quiet time.

 I like being able to feel the holy spirit  in a quieter place and keeping it to myself, rather than screaming, jumping up and down, or dancing. I don't mind liturgical dancing, but i dislike it when people start rolling around on the floor and screaming "THE LORD IS IN ME!"

now i don't doubt that the lord is in them, but it just startles me and then i can't focus on the hymns or service any longer i focus on that person. I also don't like being told that evolution is science fiction, i prefer churches that are liberal enough in their beliefs that they believe God is not a simple God but complicated. I like to believe that God is so powerful that he can do whatever he wants, that he can put in such a long drawn out pattern of creation and reveals it to us when he wants to. I also believe in doctors, and that he loves us no matter what we do. I also believe that he can save anyone he wants to, and that even though he intended us to be perfect we don't have to be.

I also believe in demon possession, the roman ritual, and that confessing you sins aloud to a unbiased  not judgemental priest, helps with the healing process.

As a christian i'm ready for a change in my life, and i am ready for people to accept me as i am, just like God does. 

As a christian what do you believe? Do you believe like i do?

I'm sixteen years old and still I believe in Santa, why you may ask, because I believe in Saints. There are arguments from protestants that say Saints are just a way to show idolatry and prevent worship of Christ; and most of the time the people who say that don't believe in the holy trinity or say the Apostles Creed. I as a Christian have to remember most churches around my town, don't follow the same liturgical order as the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, or Episcopal Churches; and i must say it somewhat bothers me, but what can ya do.

I as most children have been told Santa is a big fat man who comes down the chimney once a year, and gives you presents, and if your bad he gives coal. Then when you are viewed as too old to believe some helpful teenager rips everything you ever believed in that was magical and tells you Santa's not real. Well, I'm here to give back what most children have been depraved of.

For starters, Santa isn't magic. He's a saint, he doesn't need magic to go around the world in one night; he has the holy spirit to move him where ever he wants to go. The origin of the whole "Santa gives gifts to every child on Christmas eve." came from one of a few stories. 

In his most famous exploit however, a poor man had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment would have to become prostitutes. Hearing of the poor man's plight, Nicholas decided to help him but being too modest to help the man in public, (or to save the man the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to his house under the cover of night and threw three purses (one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window opening into the man's house.

Remember this is Saint Nicholas we're talking about, not the traditional Santa with a belly like a bowl full of jelly. The origin of his traditional name Santa Claus, is much the same as the Dutch Sinterklaas. Which sounds much like our name for him.

Saint nicholas is world renowned by many names such as Nicholas the Wonderworker, for his Miracle and intercession. He's the patron saint of children for, another legend^[11] tells how a terrible famine struck the island and a malicious butcher lured three little children into his house, where he slaughtered and butchered them, placing their remains in a barrel to cure, planning to sell them off as ham. Saint Nicholas, visiting the region to care for the hungry, not only saw through the butcher's horrific crime but also resurrected the three boys from the barrel by his prayers.

So, there are plenty of legends and stories but here's another reason to let children believe. How are they going to believe in God? How can you expect a child to believe in God if you say there is not a Santa. the response "God is real Santa isn't" is very commonly heard. Especially if you tell the child there isn't any proof of him. Tell me when they're trying to find themselves, what are they going to say to you when you show them the bible and they refute the creation story and say "God isn't real, even if he was he's dead now."

Then i bet you'll wish you had let them have faith in Santa, in a Saint who saved children, who gave gifts to desperate virgins.

My reason for believing in Santa is pretty cool. When my godmother and my mother were extremely poor back several years ago, they had nothing to eat, no money to get presents no money for clothes nothing. One christmas it was going to be a dime Christmas, which means homemade. My mother and my godmother scrounged for My godmother's daughter a baby carriage and a doll house. That was all she wanted, and they couldn't find a nice carriage; so they took a part an old basket and hot glued legs and wheels on to it. They made a doll house out of scraps. It was rough, dirty, and not pretty at all; and as the christmas season progressed my godmother kept saying "oh, i'll never be able to get this for her, we won't have food." My mom asked "don't you believe in Santa. He'll get it for her."

  My godmother said "No. There's no such thing as Santa."

Well,christmas came everything was perfect, the doll house, the carriage everything. On, their door step was a bag filled with groceries. Just what they needed.

That's my reason for believing along with my faith in Saints. You can tell me whatever you want, try to disprove it. I don't care you can't break my faith in these stories.

Do you have a Santa story you can't explain? Do you still believe?

So last night i slept in card board boxes, refrigerator boxes actually. So i was getting this box ready for my bed with lots of duct tape, lots of duct tape. i made a completely closed off box for my bedroom so no wind would hit, me then a parlor to enter my box with. I assumed everyone would do something like this to keep warm i was wrong. Some of the girls had windows in their's and were going to freeze. i was honestly worried about them but, i stayed out of their business.

I slept on a tarp and in a 0 degree sleeping bag, it reminded me of camping in yellowstone national park when it snowed, it was chilly but i was relatively warmer than the others, i came out of my sleeping chamber and noticed a twenty degree temperature difference between the chamber and the parlor. Needless to say i was rather happy to be in the semi-warmth. Then i wondered about the people who actually had to live like this, i was very thankful for my house that i normally sleep in, but yet again i was also thankful for my box because without it i would be freezing.

i put polka dots all over it as you can see in my picture and told my dad repeatedly i wanted to go back home and get in my bed, but to keep our minds off of it we played games like hide and seek and sardines. I had a lot of fun last night and i hope to do it again sometime soon, but not the day before my beauty pageant again. Today i will be doing a beauty pageant and i hope i can share with the audience about my experience.

Would you ever sleep in a box for charity?